1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a writing utensil, and in particular to a writing utensil that can be inexpensively manufactured.
2. Description of thee Related Art
A conventional writing utensil, (e.g., a typical mechanical pencil) includes a lead feeding mechanism housed in an external cylinder, a case for holding leads of the lead feeding mechanism extending rearwardly away from the writing tip through the external cylinder, and an eraser receiving section inserted in the rearward portion of the lead holding case which includes an eraser inserted into the receiver.
In addition, a clip is configured as a separate element and is attached to the outside of the external cylinder by pressure, or alternatively, by sandwiching the clip between the external cylinder and a loop-shaped attachment formed at one end of the clip and screwing the loop-shaped attachment to the external cylinder.
A conventional ball point pen includes a refill, a spring, and a refill feeding mechanism, all of which are housed in an external cylinder, and a cap inserted at the rear end of a cam bar constituting the refill feeding mechanism. A clip is attached to the external cylinder in the same manner as for the mechanical pencil.
Such conventional writing utensils have as separate parts, the clip, a part for depressing on the rear end of the writing utensil, and a part for attaching the clip, thereby increasing the number of necessary parts. Furthermore, a large amount of time and labor is required to attach the clip, thereby increasing manufacturing costs.
In view of the foregoing and other problems, disadvantages, and drawbacks of the conventional writing utensils, the present invention has been devised, and it is an object of the invention to provide a writing utensil that can be inexpensively manufactured and easily assembled.
To attain the above and other objects, the invention provides a writing utensil having an external cylinder, a feeding mechanism housed in the external cylinder for propelling a writing medium forward, and a rear-end knocking member that can move in conjunction with the feeding mechanism in the axial direction.
The rear-end knocking member is integrally formed with a cylindrical section having a central opening into which the rear end of the feeding mechanism is inserted and the rear of the cylindrical section protrudes from the rear end of the external cylinder. A clip section extends outside and along the external cylinder in the axial direction, and a connecting section passing through a stem hole formed in the rear side face of the external cylinder connects the cylindrical section and the clip section together.
Furthermore, the writing utensil may be a mechanical pencil, and a lead case, which is part of the feeding mechanism, can be inserted into a central hole in the cylindrical section. Preferably, a restricting section is formed inside the cylindrical section of the rear end knocking member. If such a restricting section is formed, the front surface forms a receiving surface for receiving the rear end of the lead case and the rear surface forms a tapered surface for facilitating the insertion of a lead.
In addition, the rear end of the cylindrical section preferably forms an eraser receiving section into which an eraser is inserted.
The writing utensil may be a ball point pen, a felt-tip pen, or a magic marker, and a cam bar of the feeding mechanism can be inserted into the central hole in the cylindrical section.
Since the rear-end knocking member is integrally formed and includes the cylindrical section, the clip section, and the connecting section, the inventive writing utensil requires only a small number of parts and can be simply assembled. Assembly is accomplished by inserting the connecting section through the external cylinder into the stem hole formed in the rear side face of the external cylinder and inserting the rear end of the feeding mechanism into the central hole in the cylindrical section.
Moreover, if the writing utensil is a mechanical pencil, the lead case of the feeding mechanism may be inserted into the central hole in the cylindrical section.
In an embodiment where the restricting section is formed inside the cylindrical section and its front surface forms a receiving surface for receiving the rear end of the lead case, the lead case is reliably moved forward when the rear-end knocking member is depressed. Additionally, writing leads can be easily and reliably refilled by being inserted from the rear of the rear-end knocking member via the cylindrical section. The leads will not be broken when refilling if a tapered surface has been formed at the rear surface of the restricting section.
Further, the rear of the cylindrical section acts as the eraser receiving section, thereby further decreasing the number of required parts. In addition, if the writing utensil is a ball point pen, a felt-tip pen, or a marking pen, the cam bar of the feeding mechanism may be inserted into the central hole in the cylindrical section.